The Mongolian spot is a congenital, blue-gray color with a variety of shapes and sizes, mostly located in the lumbosacral area, commonly observed in Asian and African infants but rare in Caucasians. A diagnosis is based on the clinical morphology. A histopathological examination of the lesions is required when in doubt. Mongolian spots are often present at birth, usually disappear during childhood, and are generally unnoticeable after one to four years. On the other hand, these spots persist for a long time in approximately 3%-4% of Asian populations. Darker pigmented spots located in the extrasacral area are called ectopic Mongolian spots (previously known as aberrant Mongolian spots). These are more likely to persist than the typical sacral Mongolian spots. They have a benign course, but patients with ectopic Mongolian spots in exposed areas may experience psychological distress owing to their cosmetic appearance. Herein, ectopic Mongolian spots are described in terms of their epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, pathological features, and treatment.

Background: This study aims to investigate the frequency of distal femoral and popliteal arterial calcification and to evaluate the intraoperative and postoperative effects of arterial calcification in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty using a tourniquet. Methods: The records of 5,438 patients who had undergone primary total knee arthroplasty between January 2003 and January 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. We examined the preoperative radiographs of the knee from all patients for calcifications of the femoral and popliteal arteries. Vascular calcification was identified on preoperative radiographs in 223 cases. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were investigated among these patients. Postoperative complications were analyzed from the time of surgery to the last follow-up (minimum 1-year follow-up). Results: Vascular calcification of the arteries around the knee was found in 223 cases (4.1%). The mean patient age was 70.6 years in the non-calcification group and 73.8 years in the calcification group (p > 0.05). The calcification group was classified into medial, intimal, or mixed subgroups according to the morphology of calcification on preoperative radiographs. The medial type included 46 cases (20.6%); intimal type, 161 cases (72.2%); and mixed type, 16 cases (2.7%). There was no statistically significant difference in demographic and surgical data among the three groups. There were intraoperative complications in two cases in the medial type group, both of which involved tourniquet failure. There was also a postoperative complication in one case in the medial type group, which involved wound dehiscence at 2 weeks postoperatively. No other postoperative complications were identified during 1-year follow-up. Conclusions Despite the presence of calcifications in the arteries around the knee, total knee arthroplasty (using a tourniquet) can be performed without serious complications.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Korea and the number of lung cancer deaths is increasing. The higher response rates, decreased toxicity and improved performance status of the first-line treatments have resulted in an increased number of patients becoming candidates for second-line therapy. Several new anti??neoplastic agents, including gemcitabine, docetaxel and paclitaxel, have recently demonstrated second-line activity. This phase II study evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of gemcitabine and vinorelbine as combination chemotherapy for Korean patients with NSCLC as a second-line treatment. METHODS: Sixty response-evaluable patients were enrolled from December 2000 to July 2003. We conducted a phase II study of a combination gemcitabine and vinorelbine chemotherapy for patients with histologically confirmed NSCLC that was stage IIIB and IV disease at the time of diagnosis, and the disease had progressed onward or the patients had relapsed after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. They were treated with intravenous gemcitabine 1000mg/m2 and intravenous vinorelbine 25mg/m2 on days 1 and 8. This chemotherapy regimen was repeated every 3 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 215 cycles of treatment were given and the mean number of cycles was 3.6 cycles. All the patients were evaluable for the toxicity profile. The response rate was 10% according to the WHO criteria.?The median progression free survival was 3.8 months and the median survival time was 10.1 months. The 1-year survival rate was 32.9%. Grade III and IV neutropenia were seen in 20 (33.3%) and 7 (11.7%) patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: The combination of gemcitabine and vinorelbine is active and well tolerated as a second-line therapy for patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung carcinoma.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination* ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung* ; Neutropenia ; Paclitaxel ; Survival Rate